Empathy No Jutsu
by BlackWreath
Summary: In which Neji, aged twenty and newly inducted into the Anbu, feels discontent with everything he has achieved. He even loses sight of Tenten, who has seemingly found another man. But Sakura arrives to save the day with a few words and even a kiss. Mainly NejiTen, slight NejiSaku.


Plot: In which Neji, aged twenty and newly inducted into the Anbu, feels discontent with everything he has achieved. He even loses sight of Tenten, who has seemingly found another man. But Sakura arrives to save the day with a few words and even a kiss. Mainly NejiTen, slight NejiSaku!

* * *

"I guess you're just pretty boring," the girl frowns, a light curdling her eyes into mischievous blue orbs. Her tone is not malicious, but Neji gets the feeling she is trying to goad everyone to think the same. After all, he has just bluntly told her that she is noisy, when 'Truthed' about what he _felt_ about Ino.

"Wow, thanks," is what he mutters, as around him, a humdrum of laughter breaks out at the girl's observation. He tries to take the statement in stride, but finds that for once in his life, feelings are hard to swallow.

"Next, Truth or Dare, Shikamaru-san?"

"Really, I don't want to play…"

Neji tunes out the sounds of the game, his mind drifting, so that he gazes contemplatively at the orange lamps adorning the walls, the oil paintings by prominent artistic celebrities, the Jiraiya-sama figurine on the table that Naruto has purchased with the last of his money. He almost pictures the laughing boy's gleeful face, but then pushes it away, repulsed. Never in his life has he invested this much emotional resource on a bland insult as tasteless as it is said by the girl, Ino. But to be fair, she has been slightly inebriated, at that point.

Come on, Neji thinks somewhat fiercely. You're a boy. Don't worry about it.

He tries to look at Shikamaru, who is glaring daggers at Kiba, probably at a lewd question he has asked.

_But I'm not boring!_ A voice deep inside him starts to argue, like a little spark fighting against a torrent of murky water. _I've got Lee and Tenten as teammates. They're not boring people. _

Doesn't absolve you of any level of "boringness", Neji decides firmly, albeit dejectedly. Lee is never boring, even if he is predictable. Tenten is the light of his life, swift, versatile to change, and still steadfast. Naruto is a bright orange, while Sasuke seemingly dons a cloak of mystery at every moment. Sakura is bright, chatty and intelligent. Ino is Ino, while Hinata…well, she is humble but idealistic. This leaves one member of the group of friends to be that one earthen pillar doggedly stuck into the ground, never arriving at some lofty office or aspirational dream.

Neji is twenty this year, newly inducted into the Anbu, and a celebrated member of the Hyuga clan. Ever since the war, he and Naruto have been chipping away industrially and opportunistically at the rigid, time-honoured code of discrimination between the Head and Branch families. Thus far, the Branch members no longer have to bow to the Head members, and have the freedom to live among the Head members without there being any physical divisions within the house. For example, he now rooms along the same corridor as Hiashi-sama, at opposite ends of the passage, so that he can still hold vigil at the view of the lily pond from his window, and spy the main garden upon which several grand cherry trees blossom. Earlier this day, he has arrived at the gathering with two bouquets of fresh flowers - a gift for Sakura on the special holiday, who has been bereft of Sasuke since five months ago when the nin last visited, and another to congratulate Naruto and his cousin on their marriage.

Over the past month, he has acquired several more generalised ninjutsu from distinguished Anbu sensei, particularly various nature release jutsus, and is relying on these skills with increasing frequency. This, Kakashi-sensei has reassured him, will grant him greater versatility in combat.

Lee is climbing some faraway mountain with Gai-sensei, on the premise of training and incorporating student-teacher bonding into it - these activities never leave his mind no matter how often he does them. Neji has given him some Hyuga medicine in case he suffers grave injuries.

Tenten is feeling at home, sprawled upon the floor and smiling impishly at him from her position opposite him. She then turns away to snicker at Shikamaru, who has just revealed something embarrassing about Kiba in his own ingenious way of Truth. Then she grabs the kunai they have been using and pivots it on the ground. When its momentum has dissipated, it points at Neji. Laughter rings out like a bubbling crook, and Neji drags his eyes tiredly back.

"Bring it on," he says cheerlessly, "You must have done it on purpose."

"I didn't!" squeals Tenten defensively, but a look of concern passes over her eyes, studying Neji's stiff posture, with his fingers irritably tapping the ground.

"Let's just pass Neji-kun's turn, eh?" she suggests. A resounding barrage of dissent charges her way, eliciting a frown on her face.

"He's just returned from a mission!" Tenten shouts over the cacophony, smacking the ground with her palm.

"Aww, don't be such a sour puss, Neji-kun! You're not all that tired," Naruto whined.

"I knew we shouldn't have let the girls joined," Kiba grumbles, shooting Neji a snooty glare. Neji's cheeks reddens. It is true; he has argued for the girls' rights to celebrate his Anbu status that he formerly has not revealed to anyone for a month now, if not for Hinata letting slip the fact. But he does not feel like rough-housing around with the boys tonight. He feels like a good dose of isolation. And he feels that the girls are doing a good job with their empathetic understanding and common sense: virtues he has always underestimated.

"Just a Dare, Neji," goads Kiba, his eyes flashing just like Akamaru's.

Neji clears his throat, rasping out, "I did one already."

"Either a Truth or a Dare," Naruto sings, "Either you tell us what you did for Anbu - escorting that naked woman - or kiss my arse in my Sexy no Jutsu form!" He leaps up the table and waves his posterior at him invitingly.

"Naruto!" Sakura exclaims, her eyes glinting murderously, "What the Anbu does is secret!"

Naruto noticeably shrinks back.

"Kiss Tenten!" howls Kiba, and Neji does his worst with the glare he sends his way.

"Konoyarô, all of you," he mutters, "I'm too tired. I'm going."

Shikamaru has fallen asleep against Chouji, snoring like a baby. Neji takes the chance to slip off into the wintery night, crossing the threshold of Sakura's warm house. The cold bites his nose once more. Sadness romps about his stomach like an untethered buffalo grazing pointlessly in knee-deep grass. He does not know what to make of life any longer. He has been appointed an Anbu, yet he feels small and unworthy, even undeserving of his new status.

And Tenten has not digressed to him about her new boyfriend either. In fact, she has not told anyone. He has seen them though.

Neji strides faster, his shoes padding on the darkened streets. He can almost taste sourness in his mouth as his chest works up a blaze, his heart thudding swiftly. If Anbu is not enough, then what else is? Saving the world, like Naruto and Sasuke have? Finding love, like Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Shikamaru, and even Tenten have? What has he achieved in his twenty years in Konohagakure?

Neji locates the Hyuga grounds, and heads directly for it. He stirs a hot drink, and brings the mug to his room, where he secludes himself in it for the rest of the night. He opens the waiting new scrolls with a clutter, spreads them out on his desk, reading those scriptures on Anbu tactical formations. He finally dozes off on his bed till the next morning.

When he wakes up, he washes up, lifts a flute didactically to his lips, and starts to play softly. However, he soon discovers that this is impossible. So he heads out to the lily pond to draw inspiration from the frosty air, and revel in meditative quiet. He is learning the flute from Hinata, so he is at best, an amateur, and only repeats a few of the learned melodies lamely. When he is about to finish one of the tunes, a loud banging rocks the main gates.

A bolt of irritation races up his spine. He scans the doorway with his Byakugan, and is amazed to find Sakura outside, looking harassed. She probably wishes to slam down the door, with the amount of impatience on her face.

"Neji-kun!" she bellows into the silence. Neji hastily opens the door.

"Oof!" she exclaims, covering her mouth and lowering her fist, before her face morphs into an agitated frown.

"Neji, I'm operating on a dreadfully injured ninja now, and I need Byakugan. The other Sensor ninjas are busy! Hurry!"

"Emergency? Or what?" Neji presses, clanging the gates shut behind him and racing ahead to catch up with Sakura. She was dressed in a white medical gown, and her apron had splotches of blood on it.

"Why else would I be in such a hurry?" she hisses, pinning him a severe eyeful of a glare.

"Oh," he says weakly. The hospital looms ahead of him, and jogging beside Sakura, he suddenly feels incapable of performing a surgery. What if he-

"Sakura-san, I don't see how I can help. I don't know an ounce-"

"Jyuuken! Your Jyuuken! He needs a complicated liver transplant, so we need those with fine chakra control. I also need you to monitor his chakra flow, to control the pace of the surgery. It's Shikamaru, Neji. Shikamaru-kun!"

Neji's heart sinks into a gaping hole. But he follows wordlessly, his posture erect and his eyes kept forward. As soon as he steps into the operating room, he is handed a gown, gloves and a bottle of disinfectant.

"Can't you just regrow his liver?" Neji curiously asks.

"I can't," Sakura replies shortly, "It's too damaged. Some Fire Style Jutsu."

"Who attacked him?"

Sakura grits her teeth. "Can you just leave the questions for later?"

All throughout the session, Neji is kept on his toes. Never in his life has he strained his eyes for miniscule blood vessels and fluids draining lumpily back into a donor's liver. ("Watch out for tissue rejection! I'll be back in a minute!") His back is bent, sore, like an old man's, and he soon forgets the passing of hours, studying Shikamaru's side with his penetrative vision. He sees the flow of chakra lessen excruciatingly at one point, and he gives a warning shout to Sakura, who increases her chakra flow to the lifeless shinobi. At one point, he offers to do so, but Sakura disagrees vehemently.

"You could kill him, if used wrongly. That would be like a Jyuuken to his side," Sakura utters, her voice soft with fatigue, yet alive with a sliver of amusement.

"Temari must be worried for him."

As soon as those words leave his mouth, Neji widens his eyes in surprise. Sakura, however, appears not to have heard anything amiss. If anything, her forehead is dotted with perspiration, and the eaves of her hairline are slick with sweat. Neji wipes his own face as he bends over the gradually diminishing wound, each thread of the needle Sakura wields pulling the folds of skin together like a puppet. He watches with a mouth agape.

"Done," Sakura sighs, and then leans on the bed heavily. Neji shifts his weight back, taking his weight momentarily off his feet. His face is lined and damp, flushed with exertion.

"Arigato, Neji-kun," Sakura says. Neji leans forward upon catching a weird expression in her eyes. Her green eyes are lidded, and her whole frame resembles a wilted grassflower, even though she has just won a victory against copious blood loss. As they scrub down the place, disinfecting Shikamaru's operating table, the various tools, and their grubby hands, Sakura and Neji brush shoulders. They hastily move away.

"How is Anbu?" she asks, out of the blue. The grey heart monitor, now detached, still beeps steadily.

"Rough. Busy," he answers, keeping his eyes on Shikamaru. The Nara is fantastically pale, but each slow heave of his chest is a sign of his clinging to life. Neji sighs.

"Do you deal with emergencies often?"

Sakura looks up, her eyes twinkling. "Before the war, there was a lot more. Now, we deal with less."

"I see."

"Neji-kun?"

"Hn?"

"You have a girlfriend?"

Neji deadpans, wondering how the question evokes a sharp clench of his stomach.

"I have a boyfriend."

"Wow! Really?"

Neji gives a laugh, its bitterness uncalled for.

"No, Sakura-chan. It's…it's hard."

"To what?"

He screws up his nose.

"_Who was Shikamaru attacked by?_" he asks instead, the force of his will crashing through like a whale exposing its white belly.

Sakura gives a gentle snort.

"Anbu must be screwing you up."

He keeps his silence, though his mind becomes nonplussed.

"Not at all. I enjoy this opportunity."

"I'm screwing with you, Neji-kun. Why're you always so serious?"

"Because no one is."

Sakura openly glances at him, for his words are more of a determined statement than one that leaves a choice to provoke any other answers.

"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan, but understandably, I'm tired."

"So am I. Hinata told me you were busy for one week in a row. You bunked at the Anbu headquarters? Wow."

He offers a wry smile.

"Have you had dinner? I think Hinata-sama is too busy to cook. We should head out to eat."

Sakura, much to his surprise, unabashedly agrees.

"It's lonely here without Sasuke," she offers by way of an explanation.

Naruto joins them once he finds them at the inn beside Ichiraku's, and peppers the conversation with ear-aching nonsense. Left with little patience, Sakura bats him off a little cruelly (in Neji's hardly sympathetic opinion), but instead, the Team 7 mates verbally spar for minutes.

When their words exhaust like smoke leaking from a chimney, and Naruto finally leaves for some ramen, Sakura collapses onto Neji's shoulder exaggeratedly, her pink hair falling all over his shoulders. Neji smiles down in understanding, and though he has stiffened, he gives no indication of discomfort. Sometimes, he is of the opinion that Sakura is too amicable with people she is not well acquainted with. But so is Tenten, keeping an open policy to foreign boyfriends. He lobs a fishball into Sakura's mouth upon her emotionally charged request (Sakura is rather high tonight), and tries to shift away. But her faintly blushing cheeks and eyes of mirth and warmth rapture him.

"I miss all the easier times," he mumbles.

Sakura giggles on sake, her shoulder shaking uncontrollably.

"I miss all the fun and idiots."

It is that sweet, bashful moment, whereupon a thousands words are spoken with gritty tongues, careworn faces depicting only a shining openness and hapless depravity, words that pass between the two that are soft, unhurried and unconcerned, tongues wagging in faint agreement, that they kiss each other hesitatingly.

Sakura breaks apart first, gasping in embarrassment. Neji shrinks back in shame, his muted decorum acting up to mask that emotion. Oh, the things he can see scurrying across her face!

"I'm sorry," he whispers hastily, withdrawing like a scared elephant. He bows his head, the irreverent flush on his cheeks fading.

"What was that?" she finally voices, her tone cracked.

"Forgive me. I shouldn't -"

"No, no! It was my fault too! I can't -" Sakura gulps, and falls as silent as the night without.

"I'll pay the -"

"Shut up, you're ignoring the matter at hand!" Sakura screeches, standing up with a jolt of her chair.

Neji stares up at her, for once perturbed, searching her flashing eyes and pink cheeks. Does she have an ulterior motive for this dinner?

"What am I ignoring?" he argues back, a heat gathering at his neck. His patience for flighty female behaviour and indiscernible jargon is running thin.

"You like Tenten, don't you?" Sakura exclaims, her cheeks red with alcohol flush.

He glares at her fiercely, a beast waiting to pounce out of his mouth and morph into full-fledged anger. His fist is shaking.

"I'll pay the bills!"

"Why are you angry all of a sudden?"

"Aren't you the one?" _What made you care? _

"Okay. I apologise," Sakura soothes, wiping her mouth. She plops down on the chair, makes a face at her bowl, and turns a gentle gaze on him. Neji begins to feel belittled.

"Don't you know Tenten feels incredibly hurt?"

At her words, Neji flinches in disbelief.

"I don't understand. Please explain," he curtly demands.

Sakura performs a swift roll of her eyes, so little and imperceptible that Neji almost never sees it. Perhaps he is not meant to see it, for this is how girls let off steam at a male's transparent, egotistical stupidity.

"She says - and I believe - you never paid much attention to her."

There is a pause.

Neji opens his mouth heartedly, "We were _not _in a relationship. Was I supposed to -"

"She was under the impression that you both were. Then Anbu swept you off and you laboured so hard that she -"

"That career, I believe, is -"

"It's not as important as her!"

"You're telling me to be a good (Neji struggles) …boyfriend, when yours is not particularly treating you well?"

This time, he asks levelly, so that Sakura allows him the time to speak. She looks away almost forlornly.

"He's a lone wolf. I guess I'm just…playing matchmaker to those who haven't…"

His mind flips a couple of times, cartwheeling in response to an inscrutable logic. He privately marvels at the empathetic nature innate in Sakura - the strong, the undaunted. A deity of love, carefully manipulating relationships to sow seeds of happiness among her friends. He will never understand it.

With a resounding jolt, he realises that Tenten must be like that too. In order to appease him, she had left, caving in to the affections of another male friend she had been meeting, in order to maximise the other party's happiness. What honour and what destitution! What horror for her too; she must have been forcing herself to accept the delusion that he did not love her. Tenten, you're…unpredictable.

A pause reigns in the air.

"Were you drunk just now?" Neji emphatically asks. Sakura gulps.

"I needed _not_ to not tell you."

"Thank you, Sakura-san," he stutters in gratitude. His facial features have relaxed considerably. All he needs to do now is to talk to Tenten.

* * *

Author's note: Hello peeps! Happy New Year! Was the NejiSaku or NejiTen handled realistically? Let me know in the comments!


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